For years, the growing number of video streaming services available to TV viewers has eaten away at the subscriber base for pay-TV services. Traditional cable providers have avoided disaster thus far because even if customers cancel their TV package they still need to purchase their internet access from somebody (and many of us don’t have a choice about where to buy it). But satellite providers like DirecTV and Dish face the looming threat of cord-cutting without anything to offer cord-cutters other than ugly roof decor. [More]
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Could Dish & Amazon Partner To Become Your Next Wireless Provider?
By 7.6.17
With AT&T buying DirecTV, and Comcast now offering wireless service, seems like Dish Network is being left out. But the nation’s number-two satellite provider has reportedly been chatting with Amazon about the possibility of creating a new wireless network. [More]
Why Is Samsung Sending A Dish Network Tech To Fix My Washing Machine?
By 3.1.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
The mechanic at your local garage might also be savvy enough to fix your furnace, but you probably wouldn’t expect the furnace company to send her out to your house to do a recall-related repair. So why is Samsung sending out Dish Network techs to fix defective Samsung washing machines? And why is Dish okay with techs using this opportunity to upsell satellite TV service? [More]
Dish’s New AirTV Device Combines Streaming 4K Video With Over-The-Air TV
By 1.3.17
Remember how Dish kind-of, sort-of, possibly-accidentally quietly announced it had new streaming hardware on the way? Well, that device — the AirTV player — is today finally a real thing, with a real price tag, that you can buy if you want. [More]
Dish’s New Device Merges Streaming Services With Over-The-Air TV
By 12.21.16 — Updated: 12.30.16
Millions of us have crossed the threshold where TV just comes from the internet now, and millions more are likely to follow in coming years. So it’s not really surprising that a traditional pay-TV company would be doubling down on selling access to its internet-delivered content… and its internet-connected delivery device. [More]
Why Is Comcast Putting Dish’s Sling TV On Its Cable Box?
By 11.23.16
Comcast’s X1 platform is basically a fancy, cloud-based, internet-connected cable box. It may be able to run all kinds of apps, but at its core, it is the set-top device that Comcast pay-TV subscribers get to watch the TV channels that they pay Comcast for. So if your reaction to the news that it’s going to host a streaming pay-TV competitor directly is, “wait, what?!,” you are not alone. [More]
Are You Entitled To A Refund After A Cable/Satellite Blackout? Probably Not
By 10.21.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
It seems like every time a major pay-TV company has to renew its contract with a big cable/broadcast network, customers have to sit through ugly media campaigns from both sides threatening blackouts. Those shutdowns are usually averted at the last minute, but if they happen they can last weeks or even months. When that happens, are you due a refund? Maybe you feel like you do, but a recent federal court ruling casts doubt on the likelihood of you ever getting anything. [More]
Ad Watchdog Warns Comcast & Dish To Use Caution When Dissing DirecTV
By 9.22.16
Pay-TV services might need to be a bit more careful when it comes to the messages they put out into the universe following an ad watchdog’s suggestion that Comcast and Dish revise some of the claims made against competitors in national ads.
Dish Offering More Flexible Pick-And-Choose Channel Packages. Is It Worth It?
By 8.4.16
Only a few months after Verizon FiOS effectively gave up on its “skinny bundle” attempt to provide pay-TV customers with more flexible channel options, Dish Network is giving it a go with a new pricing model that starts at $40/month… but goes up quickly when you add on the channels you might want. [More]
Pay-TV Subscriptions Continue To Drop As Cord-Cutters Do Their Thing
By 7.26.16
It’s been clear for a few years now that our model of what “TV” actually means is changing. The rise of Netflix, joined later by Hulu and Amazon, made on-demand internet-based viewing a household standard. Then PlayStation Vue, Dish Sling, and other internet-based services and networks started coming online through 2015 and 2016, while cable bills kept climbing. And all that adds up to cord-cutting speeding up and running away with the industry. [More]
5 Times The Cable Industry Embarrassed Itself During Today’s Senate Hearing
By 6.23.16
As mentioned in the earlier story about Sen. Claire McCaskill’s customer disservice call to her pay-TV provider, the Missouri senator and others on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing today to talk to cable industry executives about their bad billing practices. Not surprisingly, the cable suits did a bang-up job of proving that these companies deserve their poor reputation. [More]
Dish Will Send Someone To Your House To Fix Your Broken iPhone
By 5.3.16
One of the most annoying things about breaking your phone is having to go somewhere and wait in line to get it fixed. There’s another, unexpected option now for iPhone users who have shattered their device’s screens or need help with a dead battery: satellite provider Dish has launched a new repair service that sends a technician to wherever the customer is. [More]
The Consumerist Guide To Understanding Your Dish Network Bill
By 4.28.16
When you sign up for telecommunications services — some combination of TV, broadband, and/or phone — you’re told you’ll pay something like $49 or $99 a month… and yet the price you actually pay can be as much as 40% again on top of that, thanks to a heap of sometimes confusing charges and fees. Which ones do you blame the government for, and which are made up by your cable company? One business at a time, we’re using real customers’ bills to break it down. We’ve covered Comcast, TWC, DirecTV, Charter, FiOS, and Uverse in our bill guide series so far. Now, it’s Dish’s turn. [More]
From “Yay” To “Boo” To “Shrug,” Here’s What Everyone Had To Say About FCC’s Set-Top Box Proposal
By 4.26.16
When the FCC voted in February to consider new rules for your cable box, that kicked off a multi-month cycle of public comments, where anyone and everyone can have their say. The deadline for the first round struck at midnight Friday, which means most of the comments are just rolling onto the internet for all and sundry to have a look at. [More]
Want To Help Us With A Guide? Send Us Your Dish Bill!
By 4.18.16
Hello! Do you like our series that has been breaking down real-life cable and satellite bills to help explain what all those dozens of little charges are? Us, too! We’d like to add DISH NETWORK to the list (which so far includes Comcast, DirecTV, Charter, TWC, Uverse, and FiOS) but to make that happen we need some help. Namely, bills from real-life Dish subscribers! If you’re willing to share yours with us, please e-mail a copy to tips@consumerist.com. As always, we won’t publish any identifying information, but the more we have the more right we can make the story. Thanks, and here is a picture of a cat. [More]
Dish Sues NBC For Blabbing Publicly About Looming Blackout
By 3.15.16
It’s not uncommon for TV networks and pay-TV operators to get into very public spats about contract negotiations and looming blackouts, but the folks at Dish say that NBCUniversal crossed the line this week in going public about its ongoing contract dispute with the satellite company. [More]
Dish Wants $400 To Let Daughter Cancel Dead Mom’s Account
By 2.5.16
When an aging parent can no longer take care of their own bills, it’s not unusual for a son or daughter to take the reins on those accounts to make sure things get paid. And when that parent eventually passes away, the grown child should be able to close that account without a problem — unless it’s Dish, apparently. [More]
